Colorado Springs to defend police officers in 2 excessive force-related lawsuits
The Gazette file
Colorado Springs will represent three police officers named in two separate lawsuits alleging the officers used excessive force with Taser guns in both cases.
Earlier this month, the City Council informally agreed to represent Colorado Springs Police Officers Jason Otero, Allen Simmons and Peter Mandry in each case, both filed in El Paso County District Court last fall. The city will represent the officers as required by the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act and the Peace Officer’s Liability Act.
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All three defendants were “acting in the course and scope of their employment and were acting in good faith,” stated separate memos addressed to the council from the City Attorney’s Office.
The Colorado Springs Police Department declined to comment on either of the lawsuits Tuesday, citing the pending litigation.
1. Man claims officer used excessive force against him
In a five-page complaint filed Oct. 30, El Paso County resident James Taggart alleges Colorado Springs Police Sgt. Jason Otero deprived Taggart of his rights by shooting him with a Taser “without justification” on Feb. 19, 2023.
The lawsuit states Otero responded that day to a “domestic disturbance” call at an apartment complex in the 4400 block of Montebello Drive in north-central Colorado Springs.
Dispatch notified Otero that “someone in the apartment had access to a .40 caliber handgun,” according to court documents.
When Otero arrived at the apartment a woman named Raven Jenkins answered the door and informed the officer the complaining witness, Ericka Moore, was in the apartment and possessed the gun. Jenkins told Otero “the gun was never used,” according to the lawsuit.
Taggart states in his complaint he “was not in possession of that firearm nor any weapon.”
Otero entered the apartment and spoke with Moore, who showed the officer the gun, according to the lawsuit. Taggart walked out of the apartment front door as Otero spoke with Moore, going down the sidewalk in the adjacent parking lot.
In a 17-page motion to dismiss the complaint, filed by Otero’s attorneys with the Colorado Springs Attorney’s Office on Jan. 25, Otero alleges Taggart “was aggressive, uncooperative and repeatedly ignored Otero’s lawfully issued commands, resulting in Taggart’s tasering and arrest.”
Otero claims as Taggart “fled” up a set of common-area stairs to the apartment’s ground level, Otero told Taggart he was “not free to go.” Taggart “turned around to face Ortero in a posture of aggression and challenge” and yelled at the officer before “fle(eing) outside,” Otero alleges.
Outside, Taggart stepped toward Otero, “jabbing his finger in the air, … leaned toward Otero with aggressive body language” and cursed at the officer, Otero claims.
In his motion to dismiss, Otero states he attempted to calm Taggart but Taggart again “fled.” According to Otero, he unholstered his stun gun and repeatedly ordered Taggart to stop. When Taggart turned and “continued moving toward Otero,” the officer stunned Taggart with the weapon, causing him to become “rigid and (fall) to the ground.”
In his lawsuit, Taggart states he “did not strike, nor attempt to strike, Sgt. Otero,” and denies claims he ran from the apartment. Taggart alleges at the staircase inside the apartment building, Otero told Taggart he was not “in trouble.” Once outside, Taggart claims he “continued to walk with his back turned” when Otero withdrew the Taser and ordered him to stop.
Taggart’s lawsuit states he complied by stopping and turned to face Otero, who then deployed the stun gun. Taggart fell face-first onto the concrete, injuring his nose, mouth and face.
In his request to dismiss the case, Otero states Taggart’s complaints “allege facts that are either directly contradicted by (Ortero’s body-worn camera) footage or are shown by the … footage to be misleadingly taken out of context.” Otero claims Taggart’s lawsuit “fails to plausibly state a claim” against the officer.
Otero’s body-worn camera footage is not made public by the courts; a message on the Colorado Courts Public Access Terminal states it is “protected and only viewable by case parties of record.”
In a March 1 order denying the officer’s motion to dismiss the case, 4th Judicial District Judge Michael McHenry wrote that Otero did not assert “there is no plausible legal basis for relief.”
The court reviewed the body-worn camera footage and “although the video strongly corroborates Defendant’s justification for the use of force, this court cannot say the recording alone is conclusive as a matter of law,” McHenry wrote. “Neither the Defendant’s factual assertion that he did not use excessive force, nor his proposed affirmative defense, are proper bases for a motion to dismiss under (Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure).”
Taggart’s lawsuit states he did not have any weapons and Otero knew this, but “implied” in his police report he “feared Mr. Taggart was in possession of a weapon.” According to the complaint, Otero did not indicate what weapon he thought Taggart had nor why he believed Taggart had a weapon.
The lawsuit states the District Attorney’s Office later dismissed all charges arising from the incident.
Taggart seeks monetary relief “in such sum that will fairly and adequately compensate” him, as well as for his court costs.
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2. Man claims police ‘unreasonably seized’ him
Pueblo resident Tyrone Moss alleges in a 10-page lawsuit filed Nov. 10 that Colorado Springs police unlawfully stunned him with a Taser, wrongfully arrested him and “maliciously” prosecuted him on March 12, 2022.
In his complaint, Moss states he was a patron that night at Woody’s Bar and Grill at 3881 Pikes Peak Ave., when Colorado Springs police, including officers Allen Simmons and Peter Mandry, investigated a “potential disturbance” at the bar. The officers were investigating an allegation that a Black man wearing a white hoodie possessed a firearm.
In a March 4 memo to the City Council, the Colorado Springs City Attorney’s Office states when Simmons and Mandry arrived at the scene around 10:31 p.m. on March 12, 2022, they observed Moss among a group of men standing in front of the bar. Moss’ “clothing and appearance matched the description of the male with the gun.”
The lawsuit states police located a person matching that description who did possess a firearm, but that person was not Moss.
Moss, who was in the vicinity of the area, “was not engaged in any unlawful activity” and “began to walk away from the scene,” according to the lawsuit.
The city memo states Moss walked away “with his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie” and Simmons and Mandry followed him “with their weapons out, instructing him to stop.”
According to the memo, Moss repeatedly told the officers to shoot him. When he removed his hands from his pocket, Mandry “switched to his Taser.”
The lawsuit states the officers commanded Moss to stop or they would stun him with a stun gun. Moss turned to face them and responded, “For what?”
He “posed no risk to officer safety,” according to the complaint.
Images from officer body-worn camera footage included in court documents show Moss with his hands on his head as an officer points an apparent weapon at him. Other images show Moss with his hands out at his sides and, later, on the ground after he alleges Mandry stunned him with a Taser.
According to the memo, the officers handcuffed Moss and searched him for weapons but did not find a gun.
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The lawsuit claims Mandry stunned Moss with the Taser at Simmons’ direction though Moss “was not actively resisting,” violating the Police Department’s use of force policies.
The lawsuit states Moss was charged with obstructing a police officer “without probable cause,” but he was acquitted following a one-day jury trial in El Paso County Court on Dec. 14, 2022.
Moss seeks monetary compensation, including for attorney’s fees, among other damages.